More Thoughts From Me #60: Link’s Wild Wii U Adventure

I can’t stop playing Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I’ve put a lot of hours into the game so far and I’m having a ton of fun. Here’s the twist though: I’m playing Breath of the Wild on the Wii U. I can’t afford a Switch yet. I wasn’t about to wait to play the new Zelda until I got that system. So I bought the game for the Wii U. How is the game so far? Here are my impressions of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Wii U.

I like to climb mountains in Breath of the Wild. Whenever I see a mountain or even a small rock in the way, I have to climb it. Sure, I could just go around it, but that wouldn’t be much fun! Of course, stamina is always a consideration when climbing a mountain…

I’ve upgraded my stamina once so far. I’m glad I did that because now my stamina doesn’t run out as fast while climbing the mountains. I suppose I should upgrade the stamina again, but I have to admit to liking the challenge of mountain climbing. Sometimes, I think I can make it to the top of something but I can’t and other times, I’m suprised by how high up I can get!

Instead of focusing on stamina, I’ve been focusing on hearts a lot lately. I won’t tell you why I’m doing that because that would be a spoiler. If you are thinking its because I’m getting ready to fight Ganon, think again. I am nowhere near ready to fight Ganon. I have more shrines to conquer, weapons to get, dungeons to complete, and things to find.

The exploration part of Breath of the Wild is amazing. Link’s world is huge (and the graphics are amazing) in this game and there’s so much to see and do. Beyond mountain climbing, shrines, and dungeons, there are towns to visit, random NPCs to talk to, stables, horses, puzzles, and plenty of enemies to fight. My jaw is on the floor with this game. I wish I could say Breath of the Wild was perfect though.

Sometimes, I’ll be wandering along and I’ll see grass, trees, or shrubs in front of me pop into existence or look into the distance and see an enemy camp with no enemies. Those enemies are there, but they just haven’t popped in yet. Breath of the Wild on Wii U has some pop in. Most of the time it isn’t a big deal and you barely notice it. It definitely isn’t the only problem the game has though.

The load times between shrine traveling could be a lot better. I’m sure it could be worse too. We are not talking Lego City Undercover load times here. Though, the game’s framerate issue is possibly worse. Most of the time, I don’t see any framerate issues. I’m not a nitpicker who can spot tiny framerate issues. The issues I’ve seen, two instances so far, have been major hiccups for the game.

The first major framerate issue I saw came while I was exploring a dark maze. The game visiablity slowed down a lot. I was afraid the game would freeze up but then the framerate went back to normal. Its disappointing to see such an awesome game do something like this.

The second major framerate issue was when I was fighting an enemy one time and the game slowed but quickly recovered. Moments like these are important to note because they do take you out of the game. I’m sure there are other times the game slowed down a bit and I just didn’t notice. I wish Nintendo would patch the framerate a bit but I doubt thats going to happen. There is one other minor technical issue to note.

I don’t share screenshots via twitter much with Breath of the Wild. When you go out of the game on the Wii U and then came back in, there is a bit of a reload for the game. This is not a short reload either. Its a shame this happens because I would be sharing a ton more screenshots if it was not.

So what about gameplay issues? I’ve told you about the technical issues that the game has. None of that is a deal breaker though. I wish those were not issues, but I still love the game a lot. Is there anything I don’t like about Breath of the Wild’s gameplay?

Well, there is something that I both love and hate. It rains a lot in Breath of the Wild. I think the rain in the game is great in a way: mountains are slippery when it rains, water drips from Link after he comes in from the rain, and lighting can strike Link when he has metal objects out! These are neat things. But two of them are also hindrances to the gameplay at times. Like I said earlier, I love to climb mountains! In the rain, you can’t climb the mountains because its too slippery.

And as for the lighting, that can be annoying at times. You have to put away your weapons when it storms and risk being attacked by enemies. It is dangerous to go out in the rain.

The rain isn’t a game breaker though. While I’m not a huge fan of it sometimes, it does add a layer of depth and challenge to the game. There is so much challenge in this game overall! I would not change the rain nor the weapons breaking nor how hard some of the shrines are. Breath of the Wild is totally amazing despite its problems.

Breath of the Wild may be better on Nintendo Switch. I’ve heard it still has some framerate problems there, but the loading and screenshot sharing is better. Its too bad that the Wii U version got stuck with more problems. That said, if you don’t have a Switch but do have a Wii U, you should get the game for the Wii U anyway.

The techical problems that this game has on Wii U do not break the game. Most of the time, you will not notice the things I mentioned. You will be way too busy exploring Link’s beautiful world!

Have you played Legend of the Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Wii U? What do you think of it? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Next week: A look back at Fire Emblem Fates. As the next installment of the Fire Emblem franchise draws near, I look back at why I liked Fates so much and how it made me a big fan of the series!

More Thougths From Me is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed here are mine and mine alone. I gotta get back to Breath of the Wild now!

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Daniel Fugate has wanted to be a writer since he was seven years old. He has a bachelor's degree in English and he's a huge Animal Crossing fan. The Wii U and 3DS are currently his favorite video game systems!